The Dynamics of Known Centaurs

Abstract

We have numerically investigated the long term dynamical behavior of known Centaurs. This class of objects is thought to constitute the transitional population between the Kuiper Belt and the Jupiter-family comets (JFCs). In our study, we find that over their dynamical lifetimes, these objects diffuse into the JFCs and other sinks, and also make excursions into the Scattered Disk, but (not surprisingly) do not diffuse into the parameter space representing the main Kuiper Belt. These Centaurs spend most of their dynamical lifetimes in orbits of eccentricity 0.2-to-0.6 and perihelion distance 12-to-30 AU. Their orbital evolution is characterized by frequent close encounters with the giant planets. Most of these Centaurs will escape from the solar system (or enter the Oort Cloud), while a fraction will enter the JFC population and a few percent will impact a giant planet. Their median dynamical lifetime is 9 Myr, although there is a wide dispersion in lifetimes, ranging from less than 1 Myr to more than 100 Myr. We find the dynamical evolution of this sample of Centaurs to be less orderly than the planet-to-planet "hand-off" described in previous investigations. We discuss the implications of our study for the spatial distribution of the Centaurs as a whole.

13 pages, 11 figures, revised version in press at AJ

References in corpus (3)

• Chaos in the Solar System
• The Phase Space Structure Near Neptune Resonances in the Kuiper Belt
• The Keplerian map for the restricted three-body problem as a model of comet evolution

Cited by in corpus (81)

• The Active Centaurs
• "TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region X. Analysis of classical Kuiper belt objects from Herschel and Spitzer observations
• Neptune's Migration into a Stirred-Up Kuiper Belt: A Detailed Comparison of Simulations to Observations
• The Planet Nine Hypothesis
• Color Systematics of Comets and Related Bodies
• The Scattered Disk as the source of the Jupiter Family comets
• On the Migration of Jupiter and Saturn: Constraints from Linear Models of Secular Resonant Coupling with the Terrestrial Planets
• Destruction of Binary Minor Planets During Neptune Scattering
• De-biased Populations of Kuiper Belt Objects from the Deep Ecliptic Survey
• Two Dynamical Classes of Centaurs
• Short-term variability of a sample of 29 trans-Neptunian objects and Centaurs
• Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt
• An Oort cloud origin for the high-inclination, high-perihelion Centaurs
• 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, A Centaur in the Gateway to the Jupiter-Family Comets
• The Solar System's Post-Main Sequence Escape Boundary
• A Uranian Trojan and the frequency of temporary giant-planet co-orbitals
• Chaotic Diffusion of Resonant Kuiper Belt Objects
• Discovery of A New Retrograde Trans-Neptunian Object: Hint of A Common Orbital Plane for Low Semi-Major Axis, High Inclination TNOs and Centaurs
• Do Centaurs preserve their source inclinations?
• Solar System Physics for Exoplanet Research
• What is a planet?
• The Neptune Trojans - a new source for the Centaurs?
• Col-OSSOS: The Colours of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey
• Dynamical evolution and end states of active and inactive Centaurs
• An interstellar origin for Jupiter's retrograde co-orbital asteroid
• Carbon monoxide in the distantly active Centaur (60558) 174P/Echeclus at 6 AU
• Planetary Trojans - the main source of short period comets?
• Inclination Mixing in the Classical Kuiper Belt
• Formation of Centaurs' rings through their partial tidal disruption during planetary encounters
• Neptune's resonances in the Scattered Disk
• Discovery of a Binary Centaur
• Fragmentation Kinematics in Comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami
• Dynamical evolution of escaped plutinos, another source of Centaurs
• Dynamical Classification of Trans-Neptunian Objects Detected by the Dark Energy Survey
• 2008 LC18: a potentially unstable Neptune Trojan
• The rings of Chariklo under close encounters with the giant planets
• Centaur and giant planet crossing populations: origin and distribution
• An interstellar origin for high-inclination Centaurs
• OSSOS XV: Probing the Distant Solar System with Observed Scattering TNOs
• 2006 SQ372: A Likely Long-Period Comet from the Inner Oort Cloud
• Characterization of material around the centaur (2060) Chiron from a visible and near-infrared stellar occultation in 2011
• A model for the common origin of Jupiter family and Halley type comets
• The Dynamical History of Chariklo and its Rings
• P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS): An Active Centaur in Imminent Transition to the Jupiter Family
• Metal pollution of the solar white dwarf by solar system small bodies
• Physical Characterization of the December 2017 Outburst of the Centaur 174P/Echeclus
• Photometry of active Centaurs: Colors of dormant active Centaur nuclei
• 174P/Echeclus and its Blue Coma Observed Post-outburst
• Thermal Shadows and Compositional Structure in Comet Nuclei
• The Generation of the Distant Kuiper Belt by Planet Nine from an Initially Broad Perihelion Distribution
• From KBOs to Centaurs: The Thermal Connection
• A molecular wind blows out of the Kuiper belt
• OSSOS: XV. No active Centaurs in the Outer Solar System Origins Survey
• Hubble Space Telescope Search for Activity in High Perihelion Objects
• A laboratory study of water ice erosion by low-energy ions
• The threat of Centaurs for terrestrial planets and their orbital evolution as impactors
• Inferring Late Stage Enrichment of Exoplanet Atmospheres from Observed Interstellar Comets
• Rings under close encounters with the giant planets: Chariklo vs Chiron
• Light curves of ten Centaurs from K2 measurements
• The gateway from Centaurs to Jupiter-family Comets: thermal and dynamical evolution
• From Centaurs to comets - 40 years
• The journey of Typhon-Echidna as a binary system through the planetary region
• Pan-STARRS 1 observations of the unusual active Centaur P/2011 S1(Gibbs)
• Recurring Activity Discovered on Quasi-Hilda 2009 DQ118
• The Dynamical History Of 2060 Chiron And Its Proposed Ring System
• Influence of the Centaurs and TNOs on the main belt and its families
• The Discovery and Evolution of a Possible New Epoch of Cometary Activity by the Centaur (2060) Chiron
• Stellar winds can affect gas dynamics in debris disks and create observable belt winds
• Detection of Coma Activity of the ACO/Quasi-Hilda Object, 212P/2000YN30
• Can the orbital distribution of Neptune's 3:2 mean motion resonance result from stability sculpting?
• Icy Bodies in the New Solar System
• Asteroids and Comets
• OSSOS: XXVII. Population Estimates for Theoretically Stable Centaurs Between Uranus and Neptune
• The current cratering rate on the regular satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
• Ejected from home: C/1980 E1 (Bowell) and C/2024 L5 (ATLAS)
• New results on orbital resonances
• Colors of Centaurs observed by the Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam and implications for their origin
• The Dynamics of Centaurs in the Vicinity of the 2:1 Mean Motion Resonance of Neptune and Uranus Trojan Region
• On the interstellar origin of high-inclination Centaurs
• Inclination pathways of planet-crossing asteroids
• Assessing the contribution of Centaur impacts to ice giant luminosities